>>Damn, I could take lessons in mean from this critic:
>>It's probably a fight movie and a brutal fight movie at that. Mu Thai is always brutal.
>>Who knows. One day HBO or STARZ will show it and I'll sneak a peak free (sort of free)...
>>
>>

'Only God Forgives' Reviews: Ryan Gosling's Latest With Nicolas Winding Refn Gets Heat From Critics; Screening Booed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...=entertainment

When Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn last teamed for a film, the result was "Drive," a hyper-violent and critically beloved dreamscape that earned rave reviews at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and won Refn the Best Director trophy from the festival's jury. Judging from the early response to "Only God Forgives," the pair's latest collaboration, don't expect a repeat.

"The wallpaper emotes more than Ryan Gosling does in 'Only God Forgives,' an exercise in supreme style and minimal substance from 'Drive' director Nicolas Winding Refn," wrote Peter Debruge for Variety, a slam that seems almost quaint in comparison to the vitriol posted by Hollywood Elsewhere proprietor Jeff Wells:

Movies really don't get much worse than Nicholas Winding Refn‘s Only God Forgives. It’s a shit macho fantasy — hyperviolent, ethically repulsive, sad, nonsensical, deathly dull, snail-paced, idiotic, possibly woman-hating, visually suffocating, pretentious. I realize I sound like Rex Reed on one of his rants, but trust me, please — this is a defecation by an over-praised, over-indulged director who thinks anything he craps out is worthy of your time. I felt violated, shat upon, sedated, narcotized, appalled and bored stiff.

Set in Thailand, "Only God Forgives" focuses on Julian (Gosling), a small-time criminal who runs an boxing club in Bangkok. After his brother Billy (Tom Burke) is brutally murdered by a police captain named Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), Julian seeks revenge at the behest of his Lady Macbethian mother (Kristin Scott Thomas).

"Refn has made a name for himself with spartan narratives, but there's maybe even less story on offer here than before, and what there is feels kind of crammed into the last third of the film," wrote Jessica Kiang in her review for The Playlist. "[W]ith no truly relatable characters to compel us along between the occasional (glorious) fight or maiming scene, layers of style are lavished on in a threadbare plot a way that feels like they're compensating for a lack."

To that end, Refn explained what he was going for with "Only God Forgives" during a press conference after the screening:

The idea of Julian's character was a man who was on some sort of journey but he did not know what he is going towards. We spoke about the character of the sleep walker, destined to move, who does not know where he going. He is bound and chained to his mother's womb. To release that he has to go through several levels of violence. Why doesn't he speak? Maybe because the language of silence is far more potent.
At least one critic, however, seems to have got what Refn was trying to accomplish.

"'Only God Forgives' will, understandably, have people running for the exits, and running for the hills. It is very violent, but Winding Refn's bizarre infernal creation, an entire created world of fear, really is gripping," wrote Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw in his five-star review. "Every scene, every frame, is executed with pure formal brilliance. I'm afraid it's going to be even nastier the next time I watch it."

For more on why Gosling wasn't able to attend the Cannes Film Festival to support "Only God Forgives," click here. "Only God Forgives" reviews and reactions can be found in the tweets below.

"Only God Forgives" is out in U.S. theaters on July 19

I've spent all day, the last 7 hours, fighting a war on Dragon Lords, a text based, turn based, war game played on tablets and smart phones. This game is incredibly addictive, but to play one must form alliances. In our alliance, we have a Russian currently living in South Korea, a guy from the UK, one from the Philippines, and two of us from the USA. It's remarkable how the Internet lets one make friends with people from all across the world.

Unless we knock the other alliance out by taking 25% of their land, the war has another 17 hours to run. Currently, we're winning 700 to 128. Anyone else play this game?

Today was one of my theater outings and the play was Clybourne Park

My tiny synopsis (no spoilers)

Clybourne Park is a neighborhood of good people.
In 1959, we meet a married couple (white) who are selling their house in Clybourne Park. There is a hysterically funny discussion of capital cities and then guests arrive... clergy and the representatives of the Neighborhood. We discover that the buyers are African American and the house is being sold cheap. What at first seems like a merely bickering husband and wife is shown to be more and their situation revolves around a dark and tragic incident.
In 2009, we meet a new couple (white) who are buying the house as part of Gentrification -- a fancy word. The neighborhood association wants the houses to retain their characteristics and this is a discussion with lawyer and real estate agent of what guidelines the new buyers can follow to preserve the authentic look and feel of the neighborhood. A rather wild and funny discussion ensues. But in the end this house has known tragedy and there is an epilogue to tell the audience who truly lives in this house in Clybourne Park.

The same actors play the 1959 characters and then switch around roles for the 2009 characters. The two sets of characters are related in our minds and also internally in the play. That's important to the plot to see how the roles change.

I really did enjoy this play. I recommend it. It has won both a Pulitzer and a Tony and is worth the price of admission and the afternoon to see it.

My son and I went to watch it today, it was a good flick and if your a star trek fan its a must. I wont give it away or tell you how it works out but do yourself a favor and go watch it, if you don't try to over think it you will enjoy it for what it is.


River

There was that old, old story of scientists who built a huge supercomputer and asked it, "is there a God." The computer worked for weeks but was unable to answer.

Next they built a computer one hundred feet in height, width and breadth and asked the same question. This time it only took a few hours to get their answer. The computer said, "I don't have enough data yet"

Finally, they created a computer the size of an asteroid, and placed it on the moon. They asked again, "Is there a God" ?

The computer answered within seconds....."There is now" :)

>>The discovery channel has THE BIG BRAIN THEORY which is a competition program to see who is a good engineer and team leader to create or discover or devise various solutions to engineering problems.

I like the idea but the show is paced slow and kind of sucks the life out of the room.

This is a bit like the old "junkyard dogs" shows where two teams built strange things and then competed. At least in the dumbness of those shows they had announcers who kept things moving and interesting.

IT's much better than most repeats. At least (As an engineer) I think about the solutions and do a mental thumbs up or down on them.

Don't try this at home.....


The web was abuzz today with the apparent news that a man in Sweden had died after trying to have sex with a nest of hornets.

Reports circulated across the world of a man so bloated that his body was mistaken for a whale carcass.

The 35-year-old, apparently known only as Hasse, was said to have been found unconscious next to his farm in Ystad, Sweden.

A neighbour was quoted as saying Hasse looked like a beached whale due to the inflammation caused by hundreds of stings.

However, it now appears as though the story was too good to be true, albeit not for the unfortunate Hasse, as he is said to not even exist.

The original source for the story has now been traced to a satirical website in Sweden, which reported the stinging tale back in September, 2012.

It was originally reported animal rights campaigners were concerned about the wellbeing of the hornets, but we are now fairly sure no hornets (or men called Hasse) were harmed in the making of this story.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/15/man-re...-dies-3760129/

>>It is true but I mean like don't read before dinner...
>>And don't touch that thing, either...
>>Sounds wrinkled and wrinkled and I think I damaged my brain thinking too hard about it...
>>eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuW

Rod Stewart: I was addicted to steroids – but they shrunk my todger
By FRAN WETZEL
Published: 14th May 2013

ROD Stewart has admitted he was “addicted to steroids” — even though they made his todger shrink.
The Maggie May singer has confessed he relied on the drug to help soothe his vocal cords ahead of gigs.
But the habit had a number of nasty side-effects, including reducing the size of his manhood.
In an interview with Mojo magazine, he said: “I let myself down on tours in the late ‘80s when I was addicted to steroids. In those days we didn’t have in-ear monitors and the band kept getting louder and drunker, and I kept blowing my voice out.
“The steroids will take down the swelling in any membrane — including your k**b — and it’s what you do when you’re in a bit of a pinch and need to do a show and you can’t sing.”
Despite the benefit to his voice, the 68-year-old rocker says the drugs made him “bloated” and had more serious repercussions when he suffered from internal bleeding.

Health problems ... Rod's steroid use on tour led to stomach bleeding
He explained: “Steroids make you fat and bloated, you can’t sleep and you get really irritable. It’s one of the most horrible drugs in the world.
“One night, on stage in Sheffield, I thought I was in the kitchen with my mum because the steroids had eaten a hole in my stomach. I was bleeding internally and hallucinating. What the audience must have thought?”
Rod — who has overcome thyroid cancer — still uses steroids around “once a year” to help him through a particularly challenging performance.
However, he feels the after-effects for days.
He added: “I will still use them around once a year if I’m really struggling. It gets you through the show, but you pay for it. You can’t sing for a week.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz2TPAfzhXs